This invention relates to container level indicators and more particularly to level indicators for disposable medical sharps containers.
Diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures routinely involve the need to penetrate the patient's tissues with a sharp needle, syringe or lancet, commonly called sharps, through which medicines are injected and/or specimens are withdrawn or extracted for analysis. This practice has the potential to expose medical personnel to various biological hazards. The primary hazard and an important component of the risk associated with this procedure is an unintended secondary stick. This problem has been well documented by health care professionals.
While there are factors which are not entirely under the control of the health care provider, such as an agitated patient, secondary sticks are most often the result of lapses of procedural control. The opportunity for mishandling to occur is increased the longer the sharp needle, or lancet point is exposed. For this reason, a sharps disposable container (SDC) has become an important element in a safety strategy which seeks to minimize the exposure time by proximate location and protecting personnel from needle sticks during subsequent handling.
SDCs have evolved to their present form as a result of certain design considerations. These included: unimpeded access for the largest syringes and needles; sufficient size to accommodate a sufficient volume of material to avoid frequent replacement; and visibility of the contents of the container to permit an assessment of their level. Because of different emphasis of these use factor requirements in the hospital setting, there is no single design which is generally accepted as best for all circumstances of use.
If the use of sharps are confined to areas frequented only by medical personnel, the design objectives for SDC's would be easier to define. However, examining rooms, wards and outpatient facilities are areas which medical personnel must share with the general public. For example, visibility of contents is sometimes distracting to patients and an invitation to the curiosity or malicious intent of the visitor. The disposal advantage becomes a disadvantage under these conditions. There are circumstances, therefor, for which the contents of an SDC should not be casually visible and access restricted. However, restricting access does not discriminate between medical and nonmedical personnel and can make the disposal task more difficult.